What Did The Buddha Look Like? | Facebook

We won’t support this browser soon. For a better experience, we recommend using another browser. Learn MoreFacebookJoin or Log Into Facebook   Email or phonePasswordForgot account?Log InDo you want to join Facebook?Sign UpSign UpWhat Did the Buddha Look Like?Dipobhasadhamma Anācariyako·Saturday, June 18, 2016·Public group

Before Enunciation

Little do we realize that Alexander the Great lived, roughly, about two hundred years after the Buddha died in the early part of 300 B.C.E. Alexander conquered much of the north western Indian continent. The images of the Buddha that we have become so familiar with are the result of Greek influence on the art of the time. The curly-haired Buddha with his fine robes and saintlike face is very far from what the Buddha really looked like.Siddhartha Gautama lived, in archaeological terms, a geographic area of India, which is known as the Indus Valley, located in North East India, bordering on Tibet in China. The time in which Siddhartha lived in this territory had already been subject to the so-called Aryan invasion of many centuries before his birth. Genetic testing led by the Human Genome Project has shown that the peoples that lived during that time are a mixture of North African and Anatolian (ancient Turkey) descent. This means that it is more than likely that the Buddha had dark or very dark skin. The Asian gene was not as present in the Indus Valley populations until a much later time. An interesting side note regarding the Human Genome Project findings: “All humans have ancestors in the Northern Indian peninsula.” (Analysis of Complete Mitochondrial Genomes,” Science 13 May 2005, vol. 308, No. 5724, pp. 1034-36. 22)

Before Enunciation

The modern image-concept of the Buddha is of an ancient origin, but not as ancient as the Buddha himself. Around 250 B.C.E. the Bactrian-Greco empire bordered on China, the Himalayas, northwestern India (Mauryan Empire) and the Alexandrian conquered Egypt of the Ptolemies. The Greco-Bactrian Empire was known for its fine art, metal work and superior coinage.After Alexander the Great died around 322 B.C.E, the Indian emperor Chandragupta, founder of the Mauryan dynasty, re-conquered the northwestern subcontinent. Contact was kept with his Greek neighbors in the Seleucid Empire, a dynastic alliance or the recognition of intermarriage between Greeks and ancient Indo-Iranians were established (described as an agreement on Epigamia in Ancient sources), and several Greeks, such as the historian Megasthenes (Meg-ass-sthehn-eez), resided at the Mauryan court. Subsequently, each Mauryan emperor had a Greek ambassador at his court. Several years ago, a bilingual Edict of King Ashoka (in Greek and Aramaic), was discovered in Kandahar. (Circa 250 BCE, Kabul Museum)Chandragupta's grandson was none other than king Ashoka, who converted to Buddhism and became a great supporter in the line of the traditional Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism, directing his efforts towards the Indo-Iranic and the Hellenistic worlds from around 250 BC. According to the Edicts of King Ashoka*, set in stone, some of them written in Greek, he sent Buddhist emissaries to the Greek lands in Asia and as far as the Mediterranean. The edicts name each of the rulers of the Hellenistic world at the time. Greek populations remained in northwest India and converted to Buddhism. Some of King Ashoka's emissaries were Greek Buddhist monks.(*”The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred yojanas (4,000 miles) away, where the Greek king Antiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni.” (Edicts of Ashoka, 13th Rock Edict, S. Dhammika.)

Greek Stylized Buddha

Greek stylized art eventually integrated into the Indian continent and of course affected the first art to be considered, that of the greatest teacher known to the world at the time, the Buddha. Each culture, over the years, has integrated the Greek-influenced depictions of the Buddha. The onset of the Christian religion, with its iconic depictions of saints and holy people such as Jesus and the apostles, introduced a more stylized version of the Buddha. Christian influence placed the glowing ring around the head of the Buddha, cloaked him in fine garments and jewels, much as in the same manner of the iconic depictions of Jesus, Mary, the Apostles and eventually the popes and saints of the religious images since the Byzantine Empire age of Christendom.However, the transformation of the Buddha began under the Indo-Greeks, and then eventually the Kushan flourished in an area now known as Gandhara, which is located in modern Pakistan. Eventually this artistic style began spreading its influence into the Matura and Gupta empires in what is now modern Delhi. These influences are identified in the saintly face, the wavy or curly hair (very Grecian) and the torso or body of Apollo.Unlike many religious personages, even as late in history as Jesus, Mary or the Apostles, no description of these persons that were supposed to have existed are available. Yet, the truth about the Buddha's actual physical characteristics can actually be found written in the ancient Pali texts.It is natural for people to be curious about famous people and so it is understandable that persons living during the time of the Buddha, twenty-six hundred years ago (some five hundred years before the advent of Christianity) would describe the object of their interest. The Buddha had become a famous personage during his time, similar to the Dalai Lama in our time, but without the microphones and television cameras. The descriptions of the Buddha are drawn from texts such as the Vinayas and Suttas, and quite explicitly describe the physical attributes of Siddhartha Gautama, the man who would become a Buddha.Within the words of the Tripitaka, the physical appearance of the Buddha describes his height being about “a fathom tall, [S.I,62]” a fathom (byama) being the distance between both hands when stretched out to their full length. Given that most peoples outstretched hands measure about 4 to 5 feet, the Buddha was likely a little short by today's consideration. Another sutta mentions that the Buddha was “four finger breadths taller than his half-brother Nanda [Vin.IV, 173].” The Buddha was likely somewhere between 4'11” and 5' to 5’ 8” tall. Once Siddhartha made his decision to follow the holy life, he of course shaved his head and wore the yellow rag robes common during his time.We also know from the earliest suttas, that the Buddha had long black hair, which is indicative of the early Aryan peoples of northern India during the time of the Buddha [M.I, 163]. The Buddha also had a thick black beard, which he removed once he renounced his life as a royal prince. Another text tells of the description, from a Brahman known as Sonadanda, that the Buddha was somewhat handsome, “of fine appearance, and pleasant to see, with a good complexion and his body had beautiful form [D.I, 115].”Knowing the anthropological characteristics of the persons living in the geographical area where the Buddha was born and lived, does make it possible to paint a reasonably accurate picture of that the Buddha actually looked like. His more prominent physical features described in the ancient texts can be compared with the anthropological evidence that exists. For example; the population born in Northern India during the sixth century B.C.E., particularly in the Shakya Kingdom, ruled by the Siddhartha’s father, were of a group of people known as the Indo-Aryan, which had blue eyes. It is likely that the Buddha’s eyes were blue.

Typical Indo-Aryan Features (Pakistani Man)

Additionally, Indo-Aryan peoples were not dark-skinned people, rather their skin was a golden hue. Many references from the Rig Veda speak of golden-haired, and golden-skinned peoples. Ethnographic investigations show that the Indo-Aryan type described in the Hindu epics as“…a tall, fair-complexioned, long-headed race, with narrow, prominent noses, broad shoulders, long arms, slim waists "like a lion," and thin legs like a deer — is now (as it was in the earliest times) mostly confined to Kashmir, the Panjab and Rajputana, and represented by the Khattris, Jats, and Rajputs.”The Buddha’s hair, and hair style was likely that his hair was long and would have worn it in the traditional style of the Ushnisha, which was hair piled and knotted at the top of the head. However, as the Pali texts report, after his enunciation, Siddhartha Gautama shaved his head and his beard. All of the Buddha statues depicting the Buddha with hair would therefore be an incorrect depiction of him.Images of the Buddha always depict him with large ear lobes. The reason for this is that it was the style, particularly of royalty, of the Indo-Aryan peoples, to wear large hoops or rings in the ear lobes, which would stretch the lobed to mimic elephant ears. After his enunciation, Siddhartha Gautama would have removed all jewelry from his body, including his ear-rings.With respect to the Buddha’s height, he would likely have been about six foot tall, if not taller. The Indo-Aryan people were not people of short stature. When Alexander the Great made his conquest through India, he commented that one of the kings Alexander met was seven feet tall.In other Pali texts, it is reported that the Buddha had a serene countenance. He was calm, composed, inspired confidence and had the presence of perfectly trained elephant [A.II, 181]. Concerning his complexion, a particular Brāhmaṇ said of him: ‘It is wonderful, truly marvelous how serene is the good Gautama’s presence, how clear and radiant is his complexion. Just as golden jujube fruit in the autumn is clear and radiant ... so too is the good Gautama’s complexion.’ [A.I,181] [D.I,115].Gautama's natural good looks were, no doubt, further enhanced by his deep inner calm. Another person, Doṇa, described him as ‘beautiful, inspiring confident, calm, composed; with the dignity and presence of a perfectly tamed elephant’ [A.II,36]. Gautama must have had a particularly fine complexion because as the Buddha began to age, his lifelong aid, Ananda wrote: ‘The Lord’s complexion is no longer pure and bright, his limbs are flabby and wrinkled, his body is stooped, and his faculties have changed.’ (S.V,216).Interestingly, the Pali Canon contains a description of the Buddha’s voice, stating that he possessed a deep, resonant voice, with a well-formed mouth and bright white teeth, and he had a beautiful smile.In the last months of his life the Buddha said of himself: ‘I am now old, aged, worn out, one who has traversed life’s path. Being about eighty, I am approaching the end of my life. Just as an old cart can only be kept going by being patched up, so too my body can only be kept going by being patched up.’ [D.II,100].In the Ariyapariyesana Sutta, the Buddha described his own features in relation to his quest for enlightenment, saying:“So, at a later time, while still young, a black-haired young man endowed with the blessings of youth in the first stage of life—and while my parents, unwilling, were crying with tears streaming down their faces—I shaved off my hair & beard, put on the ocher robe and went forth from the home life into homelessness.”The ancient texts tell of many occasions of when the Buddha was sitting among other monks, for example, in the presence of the king (King Ajasath), he was completely unrecognizable from anyone else in the assembly. This may indicate that, although the Buddha may sound striking to us from the descriptions in the various texts, he likely was not that remarkable to stand out from any other monk.As mentioned earlier, it is also likely that the Buddhas' skin was a golden brown, like caramel color, as he was born into an Aryan Indian family in northern India. It is also very likely that he was rather thin due to his limited diet, eating in moderation and having reduced weight due to continual walking (there were no taxis, buses or BMW's in the time of the Buddha).In the end of it all, speculation or not, the Buddha himself reminded us:"What is there to see in this vile body? He who sees the Dhamma, sees me; he who sees me, sees the Dhamma. Truly seeing the Dhamma, one sees me; seeing me, one sees the Dhamma.” -Vakkali Sutta Sn 22.87

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